The new competition round of the Copernicus Masters finally started! New partners, an impressing and unparalleled prize pool worth more than EUR 1.5 million and the second edition of the Copernicus Accelerator promise to make this year’s edition once again truly outstanding.
About the Copernicus Masters
Since its initiation in 2011, the innovation competition Copernicus Masters has evolved into the leading platform for promoting the User Uptake of Copernicus. The team behind the competition is always looking for new ideas how commercial Earth Observation applications can resolve existing problems in commercial and societal contexts. Over the past six years, the Copernicus Masters has already selected about 50 winners from among more than 1,500 entrants from over 50 different countries, who have submitted more than 900 cutting-edge business ideas.
Premium Partners and New Challenges
As an integral part of the European space community, the competition showcases new ideas and trends. It supports participants in turning their applications and business models into reality. By joining, participants easily get access to AZO’s international innovation network which helps them to boost their business idea to the next level. Multiple world-class partners from politics, research and industry ensure that participants find the right contact corresponding to their different needs and backgrounds. In addition to seven prominent partners, including the European Space Agency (ESA), the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Satellite Applications Catapult Ltd., the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, Stevenson Astrosat Ltd. and CGI, the competition has won another high-level partner: the European Commission which will award prizes in six brand-new Challenges. This automatically doubles the chances to win for every participant across Europe, except for participants of the ESA Challenge. For the first time ever, this Challenge is looking for innovative ideas how to build a small satellite within one year, and this is not all. The winner will receive an unparalleled prize – namely EUR 1 Mio for the construction and on top of it, a free launch on a Vega rocket in 2019!
The 2017 prize pool is worth more than EUR 1.5 Mio and includes amongst others: cash prizes, business coaching, technical support as well as access to satellite data.
SMEs, startups, entrepreneurs, students and everyone with a future-oriented idea is welcome to join and submit their entries from 1 April to 30 June 2017 at www.copernicus-masters.eu.